This Week, From The Analyst Community

Stock analysts can provide valuable insight into the sentiment around a certain stock or sector and shed some light on what is possible or likely for a stock.  Stirring in the analyst community can sometimes be early signs of stock movement.  Which is why our team reviews dozens of analyst research reports each and every day with the goal of finding new investment ideas for our readers. 

Of the hundred of reports we reference weekly, some stand out among the others for various reasons.  Our team has sifted through this week’s reports and whittled it down to the most pertinent moves.   

Read on for the details on some of the most impactful actions taken by brokerage firms over the past week.   

MUST READ:

“Project X” – Elon’s next big move​

Elon Musk is testing the key to an $809 billion market revolution, and I’m not talking about electric car batteries. Dozens of industries, worth billions and trillions of dollars, will be transformed by this technology, and they can’t do it without this ONE company’s patented device…[Full Story…]

Monday, February 28th

• Jefferies analyst Anna Glaessgen initiated coverage of GoPro (GPRO) with a Buy rating and $12 price target. According to the analyst, the company has undergone an “impressive strategic realignment” over the past one and a half years that included a prioritization of GoPro.com which has resulted in a “much healthier business with greater go-forward visibility.” 
• Canaccord analyst Austin Moeller initiated coverage of Virgin Orbit (VORB) with a Buy rating and $20 price target. As one of “just three” commercial launch operators that has carried out multiple consecutive orbital missions, Moeller sees Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne orbital-class rocket having “an exceptional market opportunity” amid the Pentagon’s arms race with Russia and China to field hypersonic weapons.

Tuesday, March 1st

• Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter upgraded Logitech (LOGI) to Outperform from Neutral with a $90 price target. While Logitech must still face tough comparisons and a difficult supply chain environment before it returns to a premium multiple, Pachter expects shares to quickly return to its five-year historical average multiple or higher if demand remains strong and the company can show re-accelerating growth in Video Conferencing, Webcams, and Gaming after lapping the difficult post-pandemic comps and overcoming current supply chain constraints, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• Benchmark analyst Mark Zgutowicz initiated coverage of Snap (SNAP) with a Buy rating and $50 price target. The current valuation does not accurately reflect future digital advertising share gain from improving relative return on ad spend, or “ROAS,” compared to peers, argues Zgutowicz.

Wednesday, March 2nd

• Roth Capital analyst Craig Irwin upgraded Workhorse Group (WKHS) to Buy from Neutral with an unchanged price target of $7 as he argued the company showed “substantial operating progress” in the fourth quarter and its new supply agreement with GreenPower Motor (GP) improves revenue visibility.
• Bank of America analyst Mihir Bhatia downgraded SoFi Technologies (SOFI) to Neutral from Buy. The analyst cited the company’s “strong” fourth quarter results driving the stock price up by 18% in the aftermarket and noted he sees “more balanced” risk-reward at these levels.

Thursday, March 3rd

• Evercore ISI analyst Duane Pfenningwerth upgraded Southwest (LUV) to Outperform from In Line with an unchanged price target of $48. Some of his recovery hopes have been delivered as leisure demand is recovering “vigorously” as the omicron panic has receded, but fuel prices in the triple digits per barrel merits the attention of network planners who consider variable cost/ incremental cash burn, Pfenningwerth said.
• Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore downgraded Intel (INTC) to Underweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $47, down from $55. While he said he likes new CEO Pat Gelsinger and believes in the longer-term opportunity for a turnaround in the core business, Moore sees more actionable opportunities elsewhere in his coverage given his view that “the next couple of years are likely to see the stock move sideways.”

Friday, March 4th

• Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Woronka upgraded Six Flags Entertainment (SIX) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $57, up from $45. The theme park group “should be broadly owned” as a continuation of strong consumer spend on experiences, company-specific initiatives aimed at driving total per capita spend above last year’s record levels, and lapping of significant inflationary pressures in the second half of the year should result in significant cash flow generation, Woronka tells investors in a research note.
• JPMorgan analyst Ranjan Sharma downgraded Sea Limited (SE) to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $105, down from $250. The company’s near-term losses will “underwhelm in a profit-seeking environment,” Sharma tells investors in a research note.
• Summit Insights analyst Kinngai Chan downgraded Marvell (MRVL) to Hold from Buy. The analyst still sees near-term outperformance but expects market demand to normalize in the second half of 2022. Industry checks are indicating double ordering in the cloud, enterprise, carrier and automotive end markets due to the continued industry supply constraints, Chan tells investors in a research note.